Regarding Rosemarie Badali’s letter “Can’t blame Bush now,” Nov. 7). Why can’t we? George W. Bush gave us two wars we’re still trying to get out of. He didn’t attempt to pay for these wars; instead, he lowered taxes. Our national debt was doubled when Ronald Reagan was president; during Bush’s time in office, our national debt doubled again. As for the tea party, our government was closed down at a cost of millions; it was a disaster when Speaker Newt Gingrich did that in 1995-96; it wasn’t any better this time. My Republican Party allowed the tea party to dictate policy. We should know the tail wags the dog.